There’s nothing better than a bird dog puppy at Christmas.
The litter out of Northwoods Carly Simon by Erin’s Prometheus is now four weeks old. Suddenly, they seem so grown up.
And with good reason. Jerry and I think some of the biggest changes occur between two and four weeks. At first, puppies are totally dependent on their dam for everything—food, elimination, protection and grooming. Their only senses are smell and touch. They spend their entire time nestled together, nursing or sleeping.
From those tiny, practically interchangeable creatures, individual puppies emerge. They gain two more senses—sight and hearing—and teeth appear. We begin feeding them dog food softened with warm water. Paws first, they dive in and gobble it up until muzzles and front legs are covered.
Puppies have no fear at this age. Socialization increases with both Carly and their littermates but this is also when Jerry and I spend time with them so they become accustomed to people.
A major change is their mobility. Little legs are gaining enough strength to support their rear ends and they waste no time testing them out. They leave their heated nest and stagger around the dog house to eliminate and investigate. We then removed the barrier between their house and kennel run and they quickly scrambled out the door.
We also think much of the success of a litter depends on the nature of the dam. Carly is amazingly patient and gentle. I’ll never forget one quiet afternoon when Carly was stretched out on her side. A big male puppy crawled over the pile of his littermates towards Carly’s head. When he got as far as he wanted, he crawled up and fell asleep sprawled across her neck. Carly didn’t budge.
Although there is some biological basis to the timing of when a dam whelps, Jerry and I haven’t figured it out. In fact, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for us and our dams. We take their temperatures; we watch their appetites; we listen for scratching and other signs of nest preparation. And in our 21 years of breeding and subsequent crowding around whelping nests, dams have whelped at all hours of the day and night…sometimes even stretching across 24 hours.
So we were grateful to Northwoods Carly Simon on the morning of Saturday, November 26. She began at about 7:00 and in a couple spurts and then a final female, she was done and resting by 12:30 p.m.
Carly whelped eight puppies. Two are tri-color females and six are males. Of the males, two are tri-color and four are black-and-white. Although this is Carly’s fourth litter, it’s her first by RU-CH Erin’s Prometheus.
One might think after countless litters and many bleary-eyed vigils that Jerry and I are now blasé about whelping puppies. Not at all. We still consider the whole thing miraculous. We’re still amazed at the sight of a tiny sac, resembling a bubble when it first appears, and we’re still in awe when the dam’s instincts kick in and we watch her careful, thorough ministrations to her newborn.
Just wanted to say thank you again and let you know our puppy is doing great already. Attached is a photo of our little guy Jack with the puppy. She has been adjusting wonderfully, although we know this is just the beginning 🙂 ~ Karrli and Caleb
In some ways, this litter out of Northwoods Vixen by Elhew G Force was unprecedented.
Just the night before, Vixen had slept in the house with no sign of being close to whelping. When she did begin whelping at about noon on May 21, she didn’t stop until 12 hours later when she had safely delivered 11 puppies, our largest litter ever. Most impressively, all puppies were healthy and vigorous and all survived.
The eight weeks the litter is with us fly by and soon it is time for them to go to their new homes.
Tim Moore, owner of G Force, chose a white-and-black male. Next Jerry and I decided on a liver male and an orange female. Then puppy buyers from as close as the Twin Cities and from as far away as Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida and Oklahoma made their picks in order until all 11 were with their owners.
The puppy is great. We had absolutely no problems at the hotels or on the very long ride home. We decided on the name Coop. Thank you so much. ~ Tim, Massachusetts
She is doing great. No mistakes in the house. Coming to my mouth whistle. Went fishing with us tonight. Only problem is deciding on a name!!! ~ Brian, Pennsylvania
Huxley is doing great! He is so smart and loves to retrieve his soft new pheasant toy. I’m very impressed. He’s been a pretty good sleeper for the most part as well. A couple accidents, but we are trying to make sure he goes out often. Heidi keeps saying he couldn’t be more perfect. I agree. ~ Brandon, Minnesota
We just picked him up. He’s doing great and my two kids are spoiling him with hugs and a little bit of hot dog. ~ Tim, Florida
One evening, Jerry and I couldn’t resist tossing a dead pigeon around for our two puppies. What fun to see them grab the bird and proudly carry it around the yard.
Warm summer days in Minnesota sure make for fine puppy-rearing weather. And now that Northwoods Vixen’s litter by CH Elhew G Force is four weeks old, the puppies take full advantage of the long June days. With their basketful of soft toys, the 11 puppies love to play.
If not playing, they’re eating or sleeping.
In some ways, our pointer puppies are different from our English setter puppies. Pointers use their paws to, well, paw at each other, paw at me and sometimes just paw at the air. They are extremely coordinated at such a young age, easily scampering up and down their brick steps by the dog door. One female even leaps down from the top brick.
Too, judging by many wrinkles of fur, their bodies and skin seem to grow at different rates…..and they definitely have a lot of growing to do.
Vixen is a wonderful dam—gentle, tolerant, caring, and perhaps best of all, even-tempered and calm.
In the final days of her pregnancy, Jerry and I knew that Vixen was very big but had no idea what we all were in store for.
Beginning at about noon on Saturday, May 21, and finally finishing up about 12 hours later, Vixen whelped 11 puppies. Even thought the count was high and the time was long, Vixen never seemed to struggle or tire.
The breakdown is eight males—four black & white, two liver & white, two orange & white—and three females—one of each color. Nature has a way, perhaps, of evening the score. Vixen’s first two litters were heavily weighted in favor of females—14—to only six males.
This is Vixen’s second litter by CH Elhew G Force. Jerry and I kept four of our own from that litter to raise and train—and kept in touch with or trained the other five. We knew we had an exceptional cross and decided to repeat it.
We are happy and fortunate to report that Vixen and all her puppies are healthy and vigorous.
The nine puppies out of Shadow Oak Bo x Northwoods Carbon are six weeks old. They are eating dry dog food three times per day now and Carbon is only with them to nurse once or twice per day. They are at one of their cutest stages! A highlight of our day is when we bring them out onto the lawn to play until they all fall asleep in a pile.
Meanwhile in the next run, the nine puppies out of Sunny Hill Sam x Northwoods Carly Simon are four weeks old. They are much changed since the last post! They walk all over their kennel run…..and in and out of the house. We started feeding them softened dog food (which they smell as soon as we walk into the run and scamper to the dish) and drink water out of a bowl. Carly is still with them all day and night.
Northwoods Carbon’s nine puppies by CH Shadow Oak Bo almost fill their heated nest at two weeks of age.
Somewhat like lambing season in the English countryside, two of our dams whelped litters during dank hours on bitter nights. Jerry and I were bundled up in boots, hats and plenty of down to assist as necessary.
Northwoods Carbon was first. She whelped six females and three males on January 26. The sire of this litter is CH Shadow Oak Bo.
Nine puppies out of Sunnyhill Sam x Northwoods Carly Simon nestle together under the reddish glow of a heat lamp on their first day.
Not to be outdone, Northwoods Carly Simon whelped her nine puppies—two females and seven males—on February 8. Sunnyhill Sam sired this litter.
Amazing how quickly the litters grow and mature. All of Carbon’s puppies now have opened their eyes.
Within the last two weeks, our English setter and pointer puppies headed off to their new homes. Puppy buyers drove to the kennel from Illinois, Michigan, North Dakota and Oklahoma and from various parts of Minnesota. Other puppies flew to new homes in Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
It is 4:26 and Blackhawk has landed. Thank you for this opportunity. ~ Bill
For many of these families, this puppy will be the second they’re bought from us so it was fun for Jerry and me to see the first dog again and to spend time with these friends. Other owners are new to us and we enjoyed getting to know them.
We love her already!! She is doing great and is a good girl. Sleeping in her crate without too much hysterics!! Now if we could just pick a name. Right now I am sitting on the couch with Rose sleeping on my lap and the puppy curled up to Rose. Progress!! ~ Laura
While it is a traumatic day for the puppies, they very quickly adapt. Within hours of getting to their new homes, they were inside cuddling on couches and playing on soft rugs or outside in the backyard.
She arrived in perfect shape and was happy to see me. She is amazingly bright, obviously well socialized, incredibly friendly, non-stop playing and sound sleeping. Neither Carol nor I recall a puppy that seems to have the smarts of a big dog in such a small package. She is a joy! We put her in a crate at night next to the other dogs and she goes right to sleep. ~ Bob
Even though it means little, it’s still fun to see a puppy’s pointing instincts. Northwoods Louis Vuitton, male out of Northwoods Carly Simon by Nothwoods Grits, points a rag on a string at 8.5 weeks of age.
It’s amazing how quickly eight weeks can fly by. It seems like yesterday that Jerry and I were up in the middle of the night, keeping vigil while Northwoods Carly Simon, Northwoods Vixen and Northwoods Chablis whelped their litters.
The Northwoods Grits x Northwoods Carly Simon litter of eight puppies at 7.5 weeks of age.
At first, caring for puppies is a breeze because the dam does all the work. She feeds them, ensures elimination and keeps her puppies and her nest clean. All we do is make sure the dam is healthy and that all puppies nurse and gain weight. It becomes messier and more work when we start weaning the puppies off the dams beginning at about four weeks.
The CH Rock Acre Blackhawk x Northwoods Vixen litter of nine puppies at 6.5 weeks of age.
This year, the trip from our winter home in Georgia back to Minnesota further complicated things but when the puppies were 5 – 6 weeks old and mostly weaned, it was safe for them to travel.
Now is the bittersweet time when puppies must go to their new homes. Many buyers come to the kennel to pick up their puppy. Some puppies arrive at their new homes by airplane when buyers live too far away.
The Northwoods Blue Ox x Northwoods Chablis litter of seven puppies at 6 weeks of age.
Even though we’re always sad when puppies leave our kennel, we know they are embarking on their new lives. Equally gratifying, though, is seeing broad smiles on the faces and hearing joy in the voices of their new owners.
RU-CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock (CH Ridge Creek Cody x Erin’s Sky Dancer)
Paul Hauge and Northwoods Bird Dogs have teamed up for another cool litter.
Paul has long been a partner with Betsy and me in our breeding program. His dog Houston became a foundation for our kennel and, over the years, we’ve bred many litters together.
Northwoods Chardonnay (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2009) Photo by Chris Mathan, The Sportsman’s Cabinet
This winter we bred Paul’s Northwoods Chardonnay (Blue Shaquille x Houston’s Belle’s Choice, 2009) to RU-CH Erin’s Hidden Shamrock (Jack), owned by Sean Derrig. Jack is out of Sean’s female Erin’s Sky Dancer and Larry Brutger’s CH Ridge Creek Cody, which is also cool because Cody is by Paul’s multiple grouse champion CH Houston’s Belle to CH Can’t Go Wrong.
For a couple years now, I’ve been watching young Jack during training sessions with Sean. Jack is impressive and has nice wins—especially against pointers—on the all age circuit where Sean competes. He was runner-up champion in the 2014 National Amateur Derby Championship held on the Dixie Plantation in northern Florida and placed third in the 2015 West Tennessee All Age.
From what I saw, not only does Jack possess qualities we look for in a sire but he inherited quite a few traits from the Houston line.
Chardonnay whelped four females and two males on April 15.
This is Chardonnay’s fifth litter. She has produced exceptional dogs no matter which sire we bred her to.
On April 15, Chardonnay whelped four females and two males at Paul’s kennel in Wisconsin. All the puppies are sold.
